Happy New Year my lovely readers! This short story is written for the New Year, New Mood Board fest (hosted on AO3). I had already wanted to write a story like this and when I saw this mood board I just knew it would fit in nicely. It will follow most of the same plot from the move The Wedding Planner, with my own personal twists.
Both the Harry Potter Universe and The Wedding Planner are not owned by me, I'm just borrowing them for my creativity.
Love and thanks to NuclearNik for both hosting this fest AND being my wonderful Beta!
There were three things that Draco Malfoy always knew to be true.
The first was that his family was rich—they lived in a manor that boasted over ten bedrooms, and he went to a prestigious private school that only the wealthy could afford.
The second was that both of his parents were hard-working individuals: his father was a political advisor and consultant to those with power, and his mother was a prominent party planner within London.
The third was that he knew he wanted to follow in his mother's footsteps.
When Draco was ten years old, his mother dragged him to work one afternoon—he had feigned a stomachache to get out of going to school—there was a test in social studies that day, a subject he loathed—and his mother had an important meeting with a client. Not trusting just anyone with her only child, Narcissa Malfoy decided to take young Draco to work with her.
He made sure to have his Nintendo Game Boy and iPod to keep him entertained, thinking that a day in an office where parties were planned was going to be absurdly boring.
Narcissa had other plans though. She set Draco in a chair next to her and made him take notes on the meeting.
Draco grumbled at first but did as he was told after his mother gave him a stern look that left no room for argument.
What he learned that day set the foundation for his own company that he would open nearly ten years later.
Now, at twenty-five years old, Draco Malfoy was the best and most coveted wedding planner in London.
And he was damn good at his job, if he did so say so himself—which he did with chance he got.
His job kept him busy year-round, and he loved it. His parents, however, had been starting to worry that he would never settle down and get married. They were getting older after all, and they wanted to be able to enjoy any grandchildren he could give them.
Such was the case one morning as Draco sat at his parent's large dining table, having come over for their weekly Sunday brunch. He barely listened to his mother as she talked—nagged, really—about him finding a suitable woman to settle down with.
"Mother," he said with a sigh. "I'm only twenty-five. I have plenty of time to find someone and settle down. Right now, business is at an all-time high, and my focus and priority is my job."
"But—" his mother argued, just before she was interrupted by Draco's father, Lucius.
"Let him alone, Cissy," he said to his wife. "After all, it's not his fault that he has such a great work ethic; he got that from the two of us," he said with a wink.
Narcissa huffed. "We were able to continue our careers while starting a relationship," she pointed out. She took a tiny nibble of her toast. "As it is, I've arranged for a friend—and her daughter—to come by for tea later today."
"Mother, you didn't…." Draco grumbled under his breath.
"I did. And you will be a proper gentleman. Astoria Greengrass is a very nice young lady and I think you two would hit it off," she said with a nod of finality.
Draco sighed once more. "Whatever you say, Mother."
Tea with the Greengrass' went well enough. Astoria was nice and fairly pretty, but Draco found that she was rather quiet when he tried to make conversation. With both sets of parents in the same room and being none-too-subtle about them hitting it off, he supposed it really wasn't Astoria's fault; the whole ordeal was rather uncomfortable. After they left, his mother encouraged him to make plans with the young lady and wouldn't let him leave the house until he promised to do so.
As he drove away from the Manor and back to London, Draco was once again thankful that he moved out and into his own flat.
The next day, Draco exited his favorite deli shop with a sandwich in his hand when his bluetooth headset rang in his ear.
"Hello. Malfoy speaking." Upon hearing his associate and friend on the other line, Draco smiled to himself as he bit into his sandwich. "Ah, Blaise! Good to hear from you. Were you able to book that appointment with the new client...what was the name...Weasel? Ah, yes, Weasley. Tomorrow at two? Sounds great. Send the details to my email, and I'll look over their information before then."
As he hung up and pulled out his phone to check his email, he didn't notice the bike turning the corner at the same time. He heard a shout of surprise and the last thing he saw was a pair of brown eyes and curly, chestnut hair before he blacked out.
Draco woke with a start, sitting up quickly. He immediately shut his eyes at the bright lights and groaned when his head pounded at his sudden movement.
"Oh!" said a voice next to him. "Please lie down. You had a nasty fall."
Small, warm hands gently pushed on his shoulder until he complied and his head rested back against a pillow.
"Where am I?" he asked, slowly opening his eyes. If he didn't look straight up at the harsh fluorescent lights, it didn't hurt as much. He turned his head in the direction of the voice from moments ago, and his breath caught in his chest.
She was beautiful. With chestnut hair in tight ringlets that framed her face, chocolate eyes, and a dusky complexion, Draco had never seen anyone quite like her. So engrossed he was in her appearance that he didn't realize she was talking to him. He had to shake his head slightly to regain his focus before saying, "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"
She looked at him, brows knit together and a little crease appearing on her forehead, and spoke again. "I said that you're in a medical room at my pediatric clinic. You had a nasty fall and it was closer to bring you here than to any other medical facilities. You hit your head on the concrete just a few doors down, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Oh…" He turned his neck to get a better look at her when he realized he could barely move it. He moved his hands to his neck and discovered there was a brace around it. "Did I.. did I break my neck?" he asked, trying to stay calm.
"Oh! No, you didn't. It was just precautionary," she said, shifting his fingers to the side so that she could undo the clasps in the back.
"It feels rather small," he commented. Once the brace was off, he moved his neck slowly from side to side.
"Yes, well, this is a paediatric clinic. I'm afraid most of my clientele is rather small," she said teasingly.
Draco couldn't help but smile. "I suppose that's true. So, do you know how exactly I fell? I really don't remember much…"
The woman bit her lip nervously. "It was my fault, really. I was riding my bicycle on the sidewalk— I know I shouldn't have, but there was some blockage on the street so I was hoping to avoid it by using the sidewalk. By the time I turned the corner and saw you, it was too late. I bumped into you, and then you fell and hit your head. I really am terribly sorry."
"I'm okay, right? No broken bones or anything of the sort?"
"No. Just a nasty bump on the back of your head and a slight concussion," she said, once again biting her lip.
Draco shrugged as he sat up and turned to face her. "Then everything's good." He stuck out his hand towards her. "Thank you for taking care of me, Doctor…?" he raised an eyebrow in question.
"Granger. Um, I'm Dr. Granger," she said, shaking his hand lightly.
He flashed her a smile. "Thank you, Dr. Granger."
"You're welcome, though there's really no need to thank me. I was just doing my job after injuring you," she said with a laugh.
"That is true," he said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Might I be able to persuade you into making it up to me by meeting for coffee later? I know this bistro down the street and—"
"I'm very sorry, but I have a full day of appointments that I must get to," Dr. Granger interrupted. "If you'll stop by the reception desk, Ginny will see you out."
Draco watched as Dr. Granger gathered her charts and nearly bumped into the doorframe on the way out, clearly flustered. If he didn't know better, he would have thought he scared her off.
Chuckling, he gathered his things and made his way to the front desk, spotting another woman with long, auburn hair. "Ginny?" he asked.
She glanced up at him and smiled. "Ah, the mystery man. Good to see you up and about. Hermione was nearly hysterical when she brought you in."
"Hermione?" he questioned, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed.
"Dr. Granger, I mean. She flagged down another person to help get you here and into the examination room. She was convinced you'd sue her for everything she's worth."
Draco frowned. "Why would I do that? It was an accident."
"Well, I mean, can you blame her? Have you seen yourself lately?" she asked, motioning to his clothes.
Draco looked down at his business suit. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"Oh, nothing at all. It's just that your attire reeks of money—which is all anyone cares about these days—and if you did decide to sue, it would certainly take a toll on her clinic. It's is her pride and joy, I might add."
Draco opened his mouth to say something but Ginny waved him off. "No matter. She'll be glad to hear you won't be pressing charges. Anyway, I happened to overhear you ask her to coffee. She's not much of a coffee drinker, but she does like movies. Especially when they're playing at the local park on Monday nights," Ginny informed, tossing him a wink.
Draco smiled. "I see. I'll keep that in mind. Do I need to do anything to check out?"
Ginny handed him a clipboard, and he signed off in the proper areas.
She took the board back and glanced at it before her eyes widened in shock. "Malfoy? As in the Draco Malfoy, wedding planner extraordinaire?"
He grinned and gave a nod. "The one and only. You have a good day, Ginny. Take care of that pretty doctor of yours."
Draco stepped outside onto the busy streets of London once more. He needed to stop by his office for a bit, but later he had a movie in the park he had to check out—and hopefully see a gorgeous doctor as well.
Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think so far in the comments! This will be a multi-chapter fic, maybe 3-4 total. Stay tuned for the next chapter which will hopefully be ready within the week!
Happy New Year everyone! xoxoHufflepuffMommy